The First Bloodbender
by Ramens
Summary: Hama's life during, and after her imprisonment by the Fire Nation. T for language and adult content.
1. Captured

I loved the episode "The Puppetmaster", and I thought Hama was a really interesting character who needed a little more of a back story; even though she is a crazy bitch.

Hama chuckled softly to herself as a barrage of snowballs came her way. She admired her friend's persistence, but pitied her stupidity.

"Kanna, when will you learn?" Hama smirked.

She raised her right arm and with it five clumps of snow rose up. She made a cupping motion with her hands and the snow formed into snowballs. Hama pulled back her arms and swiftly brought them forward. The snowballs shot at Kanna.

Kanna managed to avoid the first four, but the fifth hit her squarely in the back. Hama fell to the ground, laughing hysterically, and Kanna raised her fist in mock anger.

"Damn your waterbending!"

Kanna ran over to Hama, and collapsed onto Hama stomach, who let out an "oomph". The two girls went into a giggling fit. They sighed and lay still for a few moments. Hama was about to get up because the ice was making her backside numb when a nasty smell filled her nostrils.

"Burning coal.." She said under her breath.

"What?" Kanna asked sleepily.

Hama stood up abruptly, pushing Kanna to the ground. She peered cautiously at the icebergs, looking for a sign of anything. Then she saw it; a flag appeared over the top of an iceberg.

"Fire Nation.." Hama said in a louder voice.

She grabbed a confused looking Kanna by the wrist and pulled her towards the village.

"What's wrong? Whatsa' matter?" Kanna asked in a panicked tone.

"The Fire Nation is coming. I saw their ship," Hama replied. Kanna gaped at her. "They'll probably be here in a couple of minutes."

As soon as they got into the village, Hama and Kanna began shouting.

"The Fire Nation's coming! They're here! They're coming! The Fire Nation is here!"

The whole village quickly gathered outside. They chattered nervously to each other.

"How do you know this, girls?" The Water Tribe leader, Soan, asked.

"Because we saw them! Well.. I saw them! But they are coming!" Hama was beginning to feel a little angry as the situation was becoming more and more urgent.

Soan frowned. He knew how much Hama and Kanna liked to mess around, so it was hard to take them seriously. Before Soan could say anything, the sound of a ship's horn ripped through the air.

Everyone froze and turned towards the edge of the ice. An enormous ship came crashing through the ice and towards the village. Soan turned to everyone. "Okay, I want the waterbenders at the entrance of the village and warriors to stay in the Circle. Hurry now!"

Without any argument, everyone went to their assigned positions and quietly waited for what was going to happen.

Hama had gone with the waterbenders, most of whom were young to elderly men, only a few women. She knew it was not a sexist thing, waterbending were just more common among the males. She took the stance she had taken so many times when she was playing with Kanna as the ship came to a stop and began to drop the side-doors. When the door was only half-way open, fire-balls shot out of the cannon-holes.

The waterbenders created a wall of water to stop the fire and tried to freeze the doors shut. But it quickly melted away as the firebenders started coming through. They charged the waterbenders, creating large balls of fire in their hands as they came. The waterbenders braced themselves, and as soon as the firebenders got close enough, they released the fireballs as the same time. The waterbenders couldn't do anything simultaneously anymore, so they split up and surrounded the firebenders.

Hama took water and created long, water-arms, over her own arms. She ignored the biting cold and ran at a firebender who had strayed away from the rest. He didn't seem to notice her; he was too busy looking out for the larger waterbenders. She snuck up behind him, knocked him over with one of the water-arms. As soon as he fell to the ground, he lifted up his arms in a threatening position. But so did Hama. The soldier submitted and lay still.

"Why are you here?" Hama asked, holding a water-arm to his chest.

"It was Lord Azulon's orders," The soldier gulped, "To wipe out all of the waterbenders."

Hama let out a small gasp, then a growl. She looked down at the firebender. "Well, that's not going to happen! We're not so weak, you know?"

In a swift movement, Hama made the end of the water-arm turn to solid ice, and stabbed it through the soldier's chest. He gasped for a second and was dead within a minute. Hama stepped back with disbelief in what she had just done, and pulled the blood-covered ice-spear out of him. She let the ice-arm fall off, and turned back to the battle. She was not sure, but it seemed that there were less waterbenders fighting, however she could not see any bodies.

"Get your head in the game, Hama!" Soan shouted over to her, who was in the process of fighting a group of firebenders.

Hama ran over to help, and just as she did one of the firebenders saw her, sending a fireball her way.

"Hama! Get out of the way!" Soan yelled.

But Hama couldn't move, her body just froze. The fireball was coming quickly, and just when Hama thought it was over, Soan ran in front of her. He tried to make a wall of ice, but it was too thin, and the fireball quickly melted it, knocking into Soan. Soan and Hama were thrown into the ground, and slid quite a distance. Soan had been hit with the fireball, while Hama was just pushed by him.

"Damn.. Thanks, Soan.." Hama sat up and looked over to Soan. He wasn't moving, and his body was badly burned. "Soan?"

She looked for any sign of life, but couldn't find anything. To her delight, he groaned, and moved slightly. His eyes fluttered open.

"Hama.. I'm glad you're okay," he took a deep, shallow breath, "I'm not going to make it. Can you promise me something?"

"What is it, Soan?"

"Promise me that the waterbenders don't die out. Do everything you can to prevent that." Soan inhaled deeply, and then let one last breath.

Hama sat in silence for a moment until she realized that there was a battle still going on. She was not imagining it, there were less waterbenders.

"They must be taking them on board.."

Hama charged at the group that had killed Soan, and created a thick whip made of water, knocking the firebenders to the ground.

"You bastards!" She shouted, sending ice-needles shooting from every direction. "You killed my uncle!"

The needles killed all except one, who had a couple stuck in his leg and one his shoulder. Hama stood over him, and looked him in the eye. She bent down and pulled one of the needles out of his leg. She held it to his throat, and grimaced.

"I'm sorry, but it has to be done!" She turned her head as she took the sharp end and drove it into his trachea. His body fell to the ground with a thump as the blood flowed on the ice.

The battle continued, or what it felt like, for several hours, and she could definitely feel it. Including Hama, there were only three waterbenders left and she had no idea what was going on with the people with the village. She struggled on as much as she could and just when she thought things were going well, another ship pulled up. Nearly a tidal wave of Fire Nation soldiers poured out of the ship and surrounded the waterbenders.

The three waterbenders gave each other exasperated glances and dropped their arms to their sides.

"We surrender.." one of them said, dropping to his knees.

"It's about time. We were wasting our gifts fighting against waterbender filth," a Fire Nation general said. He motioned to the waterbenders, and they were quickly carried towards the ship.

Just when Hama was being pushed up the ramp, a group of people came running from the village; a smaller number of people than earlier. They were Water Tribe people, and it seemed they managed to fight off the small group of firebenders who snuck into the village.

Kanna ran towards the ship, but she was held back by one of the Tribe members. She looked up at Hama, tears in her eyes, opened her mouth halfway, closed it, and hung her head sadly.

Hama was roughly pushed up the ramp and in to the ship, getting one last look of the icy tundra that was her home before the bay-doors were closed behind them.


	2. The Ship

-1Here's the second chapter for "The First Bloodbender".

Hama followed the rest of the water benders down the ship's corridors. They were led down a flight of stairs that took them in to the hull. Hama cringed as a strong smell of blood and excrement hit her. She could tell that the others smelled it too, but they were not about to complain. Even a slight pause in walking caused a sharp jab in the back, or a smack in the back of the head. After going through a couple doorways, they stopped in a large room.

The room was filled with many cage-like prisons. The smell was much worse in this room, and Hama didn't have a doubt in her mind that the smell had come from here. The soldiers didn't say or do anything, they just stood there, frigid.

'They were probably given an order to wait for someone..' Hama thought.

And sure enough, the sound of heavy boots clunking echoed down the hall. A young general came through the doorway, his eyes filled with a mix of stoic importance and youthful giddiness. He crossed the room, and inspected all of the water benders standing in the front.

He stepped back and looked at all of them. He didn't say anything for a few minutes.

"Everyone seventy and older step forward!" He finally spoke.

Hesitantly, they followed his order. He smirked maliciously.

"Good. Now, will you go with these soldiers, please?"

The elderly water benders glanced at each other, and then the others, who gave them defeated looks. With a slight pause, they followed the soldiers, and went down the hall and disappeared. But they did not go far; their footsteps stopped a couple corridors down. And with the sound of several, quick screams, a large burst of fire lit up the hallways. The water benders cringed, and while a few tried to put on brave faces. Hama's eyes shot to the general.

"Oh, don't give me that look. They were probably going to die soon anyway, they'd just be a burden and a nuisance," he said to Hama, attempting horribly to comfort her. He walked over to her, and put his hand under her chin, "You're actually pretty cute for a Water Tribe bastard."

Hama yanked her head away, and looked the other direction.

"Feisty too." The general smirked. "Now.. Tell the helmsman to pick up speed, these water benders will more than likely try to escape."

The general smirked again and left the room. The remaining soldiers shoved the water benders into the cold cells. For some reason, it seemed they did not want to use a lot of cages, so they crammed as many people as few as they could.

Hama managed to slip over into a corner of the cage she was in, trying to escape from the sobbing Water Tribe members.

"What are we going to do?!" One wailed.

"Are they going to kill us?!" A second one screeched.

One water bender was curled up in the fetal position, muttering something to himself. Hama couldn't bare to watch any of this; her own people, sniveling, degraded to trash captured by the Fire Nation. She knew things were just going to get worse, she just didn't know how.

Nearly 24 agonizing hours later, the ship came to a stop. The water benders pulled themselves up from their uncomfortable sleep, and waited anxiously.

The general didn't come down, just a few soldiers, who impatiently pulled them out of the prisons, and led them out. The Water Tribe members flinched as soon as they stepped out into the daylight, since it was incredibly dark in the hull.

The air was thick with ash and smoke, most likely caused by the large factories surrounding the area. The Fire Nation soldiers quickly urged the water benders on, pushing them towards a large, metal-like building. When they walked in, a smell similar to the odor on the ship, but much stronger, hit them all.

They were put into individual cages, and though Hama was glad they weren't shoved together, she couldn't help but feel cold and lonely. Everything was quiet for a moment, until the sound of heavy boots echoed on the metal; everybody knew exactly who it was.

"Hello again!" The general called cheerfully. When none of the water benders looked at him, he frowned sarcastically. "Ouch, that hurts.."

The general walked between the cages, smirking slightly. "Some of you are probably thinking of ways to escape, but don't even consider it. There is no water in the air in here, thus no water bending."

"What about drinking water," someone asked.

"We have certain precautions figured out," the general replied, "You'll see soon."

The general walked by Hama's cage and glanced at her, smirking. He bent down eye-level.

"By the way, my name's Huojin," he only said this loud enough for Hama for hear, but that's all he said. He stood up, leaving Hama very confused.

Huojin, without saying anymore, left the room. Only two soldiers stayed in the room, and they stood on opposite sides of the door.

The next day, Hama figured out what Huojin meant about the 'precautions'. When they were given water, they tied their arms and legs back, and put a ladle in front of their mouth. It was incredibly humiliating, but they didn't have much choice. The food they were given was very dry, and salty, making them want more water.

Sometimes Hama wouldn't even eat the food, for fear of becoming dehydrated.

She was lying on her back one day, looking up at the ceiling of her prison, trying to block out the sounds of sick moaning. A couple of people had gotten food poisoning from the food, and were awfully ill.

"Glad I didn't eat any of it.." Hama muttered. But that wasn't completely true, she was still very hungry, however, she decided not to eat anything until she got more water.

The conditions of the prisons, however, were enough to keep anyone from eating. The smell had become worse, and by just glancing at the cages, one could tell how long these people had been in their.

Hama turned over onto her side, closed her eyes, and just prayed that, by some incredibly lucky chance, things would get better. She highly doubted that, though.


	3. Dirty Water

-1After the great input from the reviewers, of course I felt compelled to continue (I would have continued it anyway, though). But seriously, your reviews made me feel so good. Thank you.

WARNING: Sexual scene at some point. You'll find out.

Enjoy.

* * *

Two years had passed, and Hama had finally gotten over her fear of becoming dehydrated. Her fear, however, was completely justified; several people had died of dehydration. But she decided that starving herself was not going to help her, or anyone else. 

But she had noticed that ever month, when the moon was full, she could feel strength course through her. She felt like she could do anything, but couldn't had the same time, leaving her confused and feeling worthless.

Some of the water benders had gone mad; muttering and talking to themselves, making odd jerking movements with their hands. Hama couldn't stand to look at them anymore; it was too heartbreaking.

She wondered what Kanna was doing. Maybe she had gotten married. Maybe she even had a kid. Hama was beginning to think that that she would never get to feel those joys, that if she does survive, nobody is going to want a Fire Nation prisoner.

The slam of the prison door made her look up; it was water time. She watched as the guards worked their way from prison to prison, until they got to her. One of the guards smirked at her as she tied back her right arm and someone else did the other, then they did her legs, leaving in her a very awkward position. Hama couldn't even look at them in the eyes as they handed her the ladle, she just concentrated on swallowing as much of the water as she could, and not drop any.

She heard snickering next to her, turned to the guards.

"What is it?" Hama asked weakly; it had been a while since she had spoken.

"Nothing," one said between laughs.

Hama looked into the ladle and realized that there was some weird stuff on the bottom, like some sort of herb.

"And that one is just for you!" The other one cackled.

"Maybe we should leave her up there," the other said.

The other one actually seemed to consider it, but luckily shook his head. "Nah, she'll go through enough."

He smirked, and then they let her down. Hama was back on the dirty floor as she wondered what the big deal was.

But a couple hours later, she figured out what that was. Apparently those guards knew what that contaminated water would do to her.

She curled up in a corner, clutching her aching stomach.

"Damn them.." Hama muttered under her breath. She looked around; luckily it was the time everyone was asleep, so she took a chance. She carefully lifted up her gown, and went for it.

"What a bunch a creeps; they knew this would happen." Hama sighed, half groaning, accidentally letting her guard down for a second. A big mistake; she didn't hear the two guards come in.

"Hey look, Gen, our plan worked!"

"It seems you are right, Rong." They both pointed and laughed at the embarrassed Hama.

"What was the reason for doing this, you perverts?" Hama spat.

"Because we can. Because you are our prisoner," Gen said, smirking.

"I'm not your prisoner, you two are just guards, you didn't capture me," Hama said, carefully standing up, and pulling her gown back down. "You're probably army rejects because you can't firebend. Is that right?"

Rong's face turned bright red, and quickly reached in the cage, grabbing Hama by the neck. "You better watch your mouth, you dirty bitch! With permission from General Huojin, we can kill you very easily."

Rong tightened his grip a little, probably waiting for Hama to make a choking sound, and when she did, he roughly let her go.

"Now, now Rong, no need to get angry." Gen thoughtfully put his finger to his mouth. "Say Rong, whatever happened to your girlfriend, Luli?"

Rong's face suddenly became very stiff. "You.. You know she was executed after being accused of treason."

"Oh, that's right. I guess it slipped my mind." Gen gave Rong a suggestive smile, "So, when was the last time you.. You know?"

Rong didn't understand at first, but then got it. "Oohh, yeah, I guess it has been awhile. Why?"

Gen looked over to Hama.

"Her? But she's a Water Tribe bastard! You can have her! I may be a little desperate, but even I have standards."

Rong snorted, while Gen looked Hama over. "I don't think right now though, she's a little gross".. Gen was interrupted by Rong muttering a "a little?" "Anyway, will you tell one of the other guards to bring a large bucket of water down here? And make sure she cleans up, or else I'll personally kill her."

Rong left the room snickering loudly. Gen eyed Hama suggestively. "I actually don't know when it will be."

"Then how will I know when to wash up?" Hama couldn't believe she just asked that.

"Hm.. I guess you won't," Gen sharply turned, and left the room.

"Ooohh, Hama! Maybe they're going to let you go!" It was a water bender, one of the ones who had gone mad.

"I don't think that's the case.." Hama said as she curled up tightly into a ball, trying to fall asleep and not think about what might happen to her.

The amount of food Hama was given suddenly decreased, and at first she did not know why, but slowly it dawned on her, when she began to feel weaker and weaker.

"So I won't put up a fight.." Hama stared at the bowl with a small clump of rice inside. Her stomach growled loudly. "I know.. I know.." She ate the rice bitterly, and fought back the urge to cry. The fire, which she hated to think of it that way, that had burned within for all of her life, seemed to be extinguishing rapidly.

She felt like she was in Hell the next couple of days; every time the guards came in, she froze up, fearing that today would be the day, but every time, they ignored her. Gen didn't even look at her, and he was doing that on purpose, he was mentally torturing her. At first she looked at the insane water benders with pity and disgust, but now she was beginning to envy them; they lived in their own little world, everything that happened around them did not seem to bother them.

One early morning, Hama was woken up to a loud rattling on her prison; it was Gen, and he didn't seem too pleased. Hama immediately sat up straight and stared at him.

"I guess this is it, huh?" Hama asked.

But Gen did not say anything, he just unlocked the door, and pulled Hama out by the arm. Silently, he led her to a long staircase, a nice one in fact. They walked up it, and wound up in front two large, extravagant doors. Gen opened the doors, revealing General Huojin inside a large bedroom.

"Sir," he bowed stoically.

"Oh come now, Gen, why the long face? Was there something you were hoping for?" Huojin was teasing him, Hama couldn't figure out why. "You may go."

Huojin motioned to a stone basin filled with water. "Gen told me you were pretty dirty, and I can't have someone like that in my private quarters. It's bad enough that you are from the Water Tribe."

Hama fought the urge to punch him, and bent down in front of the basin. Just as she was taking a cloth out of the water, thought occurred.

'I'm a water bender, and there's water in front of me..' She placed her hand right on the water's surface and concentrated. But she was struggling and the water only rippled and rose slightly before falling back down.

"Trying to do some water bending? That's pretty brave of you considering it's a new moon and you're probably very weak," he smirked cruelly.

Hama pulled her hands out of the water and stared at it. A chilled feeling shot up her spine as feeling of dread hit her. 'Why would they do all of this?' She remembered what Gen was going do, and it seemed like that wasn't going to happen, so why did..

"No.." She looked up at Huojin in horror and backed away quickly until she hit the wall.

"Finally figured it out, have you?" Huojin picked up the basin and walked towards her, "I haven't been with another woman for so long.."

He tossed the water on top of her, and bent down eye-level. "That's better isn't it?"

He grabbed Hama by the scruff of her gown, dragged her, and tossed her onto the bed. He climbed on top of her, his middle meeting her's. She struggled a little bit, but stopped when Huojin held a flame next to her ear.

"Everytime you try to escape, a burn off a different body part," he whispered in her other ear.

He pinned her arms down and kissed her starting from her neck, and as he worked his way down, he burned a split down her gown, kissing her navel. She whimpered as he burned her wrists, but did not cry out. He began removing his clothing, quickly, and easily removed her gown, tossing it randomly to the side. She felt pressure between her legs, closed her eyes tightly, and tried to distance herself the best she could. As one point, she felt the urge to fight back, but when she made any sort of movement, he burned her wrists even more.

She wasn't sure how long this went on for, but when he was finally finished, she found herself very tired and sore.

Huojin stood up and began getting dressed. He picked up Hama's gown and tossed it to her; she stared at it, not sure what to do.

"Well, put it on," Hama wordlessly showed him the rip down the front, "Oh, right.. Well, you'll get another later."

Hama did what he told, to weak to argue. Huojin pulled on a string hanging from the ceiling, and in a matter of seconds, two soldiers came in.

"Take this girl back to the prisons," he said.

Hama had mixed feelings about coming back to her jail cell; she was back in the dirty, foul cage, but she was away from that man. Hama held the sides of her gown tightly together, and curled right in the middle of the prison. Tears ran down her face as she slowly let herself succumb to sleep.

* * *

Yay, rape scene! But seriously, it was hard writing that scene, without making it too descriptive. Speaking of which; I didn't write the first part of the chapter to be gross, I just wanted show what she had to put up while captured, and what assholes she probably had to put up with.

I didn't wait very long to finish this chapter because I'm going back to school on Tuesday, and I know I'll be dead-tired as soon as I start, so I don't know when the next chapter will be. Who knows? Maybe it'll be sooner that I think.


	4. Rats

**Guess I lied. It didn't take very long, did it? Anyway, you should already know what this is about. So, enjoy!**

* * *

Hama began to sense a pattern with the nights she spent with Huojin; her food intake decreased, and it was usually when the moon's power was at its weakest. If she thought she was tired before, after the next few months, she began to feel so weak, her mind seemed wander. Sometimes she would find herself sitting silently on the prison floor, staring at her feet.

"What a shame.. And I thought you would be the lucky one and keep your sanity. I guess I was wrong, I guess you are no different from the rest of these blobs. What is Huojin thinking..?" Gen scoffed, tossing a bowl of rice to Hama.

Hama heard everything Gen said, but her brain told her to keep still. As soon as he was out of sight, she began eating her food. It was dry, and a little hard, but Hama forced it down. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw some scurry past her; it was a rat. It grabbed a grain of rice she had dropped and nibbled on it, paying no attention to Hama.

Hama felt something that she had gotten used to over the many months she had been there; it was the full moon, leaving an irritatingly large amount of power coursing through her veins. She felt so useless feeling this power, and not being able to do anything with it.

She moved her hand in a water bending fashion, absentmindedly, hoping that that would quench her thirst. At first she did not notice anything odd, but when she looked at the rat, she realized that the rat moved slightly with each hand gesture. She flicked her wrist; the rat shuddered and twitched. She thought that maybe the rat was scared by her hand movements, and that is why it moved. So she hid her hand behind her back, and did it again. The rat twitched again.

Hama let out a joyful chuckle. As she played around with the rat more and more, she began to feel a rekindling sense of power that she hadn't felt in years. As the hours went by, her energy began to dwindle, and she realized that the moon had set and the sun was coming up. She sighed.

"Well, that was fun.." She let the rat go, which awkwardly ran away.

She forced herself to distance herself (A/N: Ew.. Terrible sentence!) whenever she was with Huojin. She regretfully complied to his peculiar sexual practices, and took it the best she could. His mouth curled with a wicked grin as he stroked her hair. A lot of girls her age would be over the moon to have a chance with a Fire Nation general, but Hama didn't necessarily want to associate her first with prison.

She wanted so badly to just say "No!" but she knew what that would result in. She already had some burn marks from just refusing his stranger needs, on top of his more basic ones. Luckily, these encounters only lasted two or three nights a months, so Hama had more time to mentally prepare herself.

It also gave her more time to perfect the new form of bending she had discovered. She called it Blood bending. Though she could only do it during a full moon, any other times she went through the technique in her head, trying to figure out a way to expand on it. Maybe there was a way to use it on larger creatures. Eventually she became so skilled at it, she could control several rats at a time. They looked like a puppet show she had seen once in her youth while traveling in the Earth Kingdom, and she could help but giggle at their misfortune.

She was very careful not be caught though; she had to keep up the appearance of madness to keep Gen's attention away from her.

She mind went to another dilemma that never even occurred to her. Unlike the cycle of the moon, her own cycle seemed to be late. Even though she had stopped generally keeping track of time, she knew when a month had passed, and it definitely was over that. She was in the middle of blood bending when this thought came to her. She clenched her fists together, not realizing she still had a hold on the rats. Two of them twisted violently, and fell over dead. She let the remaining ones go, and tried to collect her thoughts.

"I couldn't be.. I'm not.." Hama couldn't understand why she was so disbelieving; she had slept with a man too many times to count, and that is the way it happens. But she still had trouble excepting it.

Hama pulled her legs up to her chest, wrapped her arms around them, and rested her chin on her knees. So many thoughts were swirling around in her head. Her throat tightened as a choked cry got caught in her throat. She let out a squeaky sob, and rubbed the tears from her eyes.

"I'm not! I'll just wait a few days before I jump to any conclusions!" Hama said a loud, causing some of the other prisoners to look up.

The next several days went painfully slow, and still nothing happened. Hama sighed as she tried to except the truth.

"I'm pregnant.." The words seemed to drift out and float around her. She had no idea how far along she was; but she guessed around a month or a month and a half. She obviously wasn't showing yet, but she put her hand on her stomach and rubbed it; she could almost feel the life inside her.

* * *

**Yes, it's a little bit shorter than the rest, but I didn't want to ramble. I actually have quite a bit free-time, so, unless I have homework, it shouldn't be too long until the next chapter comes out. Right now I'm waiting impatiently to see if there is going to be a new episode of Avatar on YTV. Of course I live in the US, so I'll have to wait for it to be posted on YouTube. But I highly doubt that there will be a new episode..**


	5. Freedom

Weekends are a wonderful thing.

* * *

Hama tried to come to terms what happened to her the best that she could, but this wasn't something that one could just accept right away. The fact of the matter was that she was pregnant. But she could not let Huojin, or Gen, or anyone else know about it. She was worried how Huojin would deal with it.

A "Huojin Night" came and Hama couldn't stop thinking about seeing him; it was mostly fear that he would somehow find out. She tensed up every time someone came in, but the hours went by, and still no one let her out. She was very grateful, but curiosity got the best of her and she had to know.

"Where is General Huojin?" She asked meekly. Gen stopped and turned to her, his face hard, and had an almost childish pout on it.

"What, can't get enough of it, huh?" Normally Gen would smirk when teasing her, but he didn't. Hama gaped at him. "He had to go somewhere?"

"Where?"

"Some where!" Gen turned his head, and without looking at her, handed her a bowl of race, and walked away.

Hama was practically beside herself with relief. She happily ate the rice, faster than normal, and laid down. She ran her hand over her stomach; she couldn't feel it yet, but she knew she didn't have a lot of time, in a couple of months, she'll begin to show, and they'd figure it out.

The next couple of days brought something Hama had forgotten about; morning sickness. She could not keep any of the food she ate down, and it was beginning to take a toll on her. She could barely do any blood bending. Gen passed by her.

"You better not be sick, we can't have an outbreak here," he said unsympathetically.

When he left, Hama forced herself to continue to practice. Even raising her arm was difficult, let alone doing any sort of bending. After only a half an hour of practicing, she collapsed weakly on the floor. She curled up, and rubbed her stomach.

"What the hell are you doing to me? You little parasite.." She muttered quietly as she fell asleep.

A week later, Hama was feeling a little better, though she was still having morning sickness, it wasn't affecting her body as much. She had to wait patiently for the next full moon, but she didn't know how quickly a pregnant woman begins to show. She looked down at her prison gown, and figured that it was loose enough to hide it for a while. At least until then.

"I'll do it then.." Hama said, rather loudly.

The full moon came, and Hama was trying to be patient as she waited for a guard to come in. Deep down she hoped it was Gen. She put her hand on her stomach; she could feel a slight bump. She swallowed deeply as she heard the creek of the door open. Gen came in.

She stood up and waited. When he got close to her prison, she leaned against the bars.

"Hey, Gen, come here," she said quietly, wiggling her finger.

"The hell do you want?" He asked, annoyed.

As he approached her, he suddenly froze, his eyes wide. Hama grinned as she twisted her arms around in fluid motions. He struggled as his arms moved with her's. One of his arms forcefully moved up and reached onto his belt, and pulled off the keys. Hama jerked her arms backing, bringing Gen up against the bars, and making him stick the keys into the locked. Hama noticed that when it was the wrong key, Gen didn't resist as much, so she tried each key, and as she got to one of them, Gen tensed up. Hama smirked and put that key in; it unlocked.

Hama through Gen aside as she stepped out, she hadn't moved that much in a while, so her legs were a little weak.

"Hey!" Gen shouted behind her. She turned around and stared at him for a second, then she brought her hand up, palm down, lifted up Gen's head and slammed it against the floor.

There was a surprisingly small amount of guard throughout the compound, and Hama easily snuck past them. They must have thought no one would escape from here, she thought. She made her way to two large doors, and placed her ear on them; she did not hear the clanking of boots on metal, so she took a chance and opened them.

Hama let out a gasp as she was surrounded by clean, breathable air. It was night, but it was nice and warm. She shakily went down the hill and began walking. It was obvious she was in the middle of nowhere, but she kept going until she found a suitable place to rest. They most likely found Gen by now, and we looking for her, but she was sure she could avoid them.

At around midnight, Hama found a small farm house, and snuck into the barn. There were a few Hippo Cows in there, by they were asleep so they didn't make much noise. Hama made a bed of straw, and curled up into a ball. It did not take long for her to succumb to sleep.

The next morning, Hama was awoken to the sounds of the Hippo Cows stirring. She quickly sat up, but doubled over when she was hit with a bout of morning sickness. She heaved into a trough, and when she was finished, she wiped her mouth and dizzily stepped outside. The sunlight was blinding, but Hama shielded her eyes and saw a clothes line. She looked down at her horribly dirty and torn prison gown, and ran towards the clothes. She picked ones she liked and ripped them off the line.

She put them on as she walked, eventually coming to a stream. She looked into it and grimaced when she saw herself wearing Fire Nation clothes.

"I look like one of those bastards," she said aloud. She knelt down, and bended some water into her mouth. It tasted good compared to the dirty water they gave them at the prison. Her stomach growled quietly, and she stood up, trying to look for something to eat. There was a bush with some berries; Hama looked at it curiously, debating whether or not to eat them.

"I probably won't be able to keep them down anyway.."

She gave them a try and let out a soft, satisfied sigh. They were so juicy, and sweet. She ate as many as she could, not sure when the next time she would eat. When she finished them, she sat still for a moment, making sure her stomach was agreeing with the berries. She laid on her grass, relishing in the fresh, cool feeling. Even though she grew up in the Southern Water Tribe, where there was no grass, she had felt it before but never really realized how wonderful it felt.

She sighed heavily, running her hand over her stomach, feeling the small bump. The thing growing inside her, this Fire Nation mutt, was taking all of her energy, making her feel weaker and weaker. Plus she had no idea how she was going to take care of it.

* * *

Part of this chapter was dedicated to, the part where Hama was trying to blood bend when being greatly affected by the pregnancy, my church's youth pastor, Becky, who is about five months pregnant with her first child. She is having a boy, Samuel Edward! Her first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, and with this one, she had terrible morning sickness, but was still able to do her job, and not let it affect her too much.

As you can probably tell, I'm very excited, and can't wait for Little Sammy to be born. I love babies, which is probably why I like to write pregnancy/birth stories so much. I have the utmost respect for pregnant women.

Anyway, enough blathering, I will update soon.


	6. Options

-I'm glad those of you reading this enjoy it. This is the first time that I've compelled to finish a story, without becoming either bored or annoyed with it. Thank you!

* * *

It had been two days since she ate, and Hama was not even sure how much longer it would actually be until she would. Her legs felt heavy as she walked through the barren forest. Normally two days would be nothing, but Hama figured her pregnancy was a factor in her fatigue. She clutched her stomach as it growled loudly.

Hama fell to her knees and was about to pass out when a aroma drifted under her nose. It was smoke. And by the smell of it, something was being cooked. She stood up and followed the smell. She came to a hill and walked up it. At the top, she could see a decent sized town down below, filled with people. She nearly fell down the hill as a wave of nausea hit her, but she caught herself, and slowly made her way down.

She walked through the town, looking at the various vendors, her mouth salivating excessively. One smell in particular; someone was grilling ocean cumquats. Hama walked over, drooling, and stood close to the counter.

"You gonna' buy something, or just stand there?" The cook asked impatiently.

Hama attempted to squeak out a reply, but for some reason, her voice would not work. She stared at her feet as her vision began to get blurry, and before she knew it, everything went black, and she fell to the ground. The last thing she heard was a group of frantic people gather around her, and then nothing.

When Hama woke up, it was dark and she was in someone's house. She tried to get up, but her body resisted, and fell back down.

"No, no, don't get up! You're very weak.." A man came into the room and handed her a tray of food.

Hama stared at it cautiously, but quickly gave in and began to eat it.

"What's your name, dear?" the man asked.

Hama painfully swallowed the large amount of food in her mouth, and looked at him.

"Ha.. Hama," she said softly.

"What a pretty name. I'm Din." Din smiled warmly at her, "You can stay here until you feel better, m'kay?"

Hama grimaced at the thought of staying in a Fire Nationer's home, but she just nodded, smiling. She quickly finished her food and handed the tray back to Din. Not long after Din left, Hama felt her meal rise up in her, and she expelled it all over the floor. She wiped her mouth, and growled quietly, but angrily.

"Damnit.. What am I going to do about this.. Thing?" She put her hand on her belly, squeezed it. "How do I get rid of it?"

Just when Din walked in the room, Hama thought of something. "Mr. Din?" She mentally slapped herself for calling him that. "Is there a, um.. Doctor around here?"

Din looked at her strangely. "Of course there is."

"Any special kinds?" Hama asked, hoping he would get the hint.

"Well, there's a dental doctor, a children's doctor, and there's a regular one, usually he's used for emergencies. Why? Do you need a doctor?" He asked nervously.

"Kinda'.. but is there any others?"

Din cocked his head as he thought. "Well.. There's a medicinal doctor, but not many go to her."

"Ok. I have to go.." Hama stood up, wobbled to the side for a moment, and then regained her composure.

"Are, are you sure? I mean.." He noticed the pool of vomit. "You're really sick!"

"Not as much as you think." She whispered, "But thank you, Din. I really appreciate your hospitality."

Hama was lying, but she was not in the mood for a confrontation. Just as she was leaving, Din grabbed her shoulder, Hama stiffened.

"You can't go now.. It's dark out."

Hama realized he was right, and sighed, going back to the bed. She did not feel like talking to Din, so she tried to go to sleep. She did surprisingly quickly, only to wake up when she had to go to the bathroom, and when Din was cleaning up the pool of sick.

As soon as the sun was up, Hama left. She searched around for the medicinal clinic, eventually finding it. It was closed, so Hama sat in front, leaning against the wall. She dozed until she heard someone walking on dirt road. She opened her eyes to find an older woman peering down at her.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" She asked, cocking her head.

"No, I was awake," Hama said, stretching and rubbing her eye. She stood up, and brushed herself off. "Are you the medicinal woman?"

The woman nodded. "My name is Yuki. Why don't we go inside?"

Hama followed Yuki into the clinic, and looked around at the shelves filled with various jars, and weird items.

"So? What brings you here?" Yuki asked, sitting down in a chair, crossing her legs formally.

"Well.. Um.. There's something I need to get rid of," Hama could not think of a word to describe what she wanted done.

"What? A growth, an odd hair, and appendage?" Yuki laughed at her joke, but then saw Hama's face. "Oh. How far are you along?"

Hama really had no idea, so she just shrugged. Yuki smiled, got up, and went over to her. Hama tensed up as Yuki placed her hand over Hama's stomach. She felt around, muttering some things under her breath, and saying some various "ahs" and "hms".

"I'd say around eight or nine weeks. Now, if you are completely sure about this, then I have an herb which will take care of this," Yuki looked up at her, eyebrows raised.

"Yes, I'm sure." Hama said this without thinking.

Yuki shrugged, and told Hama to lay on the table in the back.

"It will take a few minutes for me to prepare this, so that gives you some time to think about this. In case you change your mind."

Hama was beginning to get annoyed with this woman; why would she want to change her mind, she had already decided she was going to end this pregnancy. Hama rested her head back, and closed her eyes. In the black of her eyelids, she saw something; a baby? No, not quite a baby, but a developing one. She could see it very well, but she could see it move, it's heartbeat clear in her ears. Eyes still closed, she moved her hand down to her stomach, and felt it. She felt as the baby moved in the amniotic fluid, its tiny hands and feet flexed and unflexed.

A tear ran down Hama's cheek and she opened her eyes just as Yuki was coming over to her with the herbs. She sat up.

"I.. I don't want to get rid of the baby.." Hama said quietly. Yuki smiled.

"I had a feeling you would change your mind," she said, setting the herbs down. "Lucky for you, I also specialize in prenatal care and mid-wifery."

Hama laughed nervously. "I.. don't think I'll be here that long."

"Oh, that's too bad. I wish you, and your baby, all the best." Yuki picked up the herbs, and placed them back on the shelf.

About an hour later, Hama left the town, with some provisions Yuki had given her, hoping to strengthen her water bending. She walked for a while, finding a spot outside of a forest. It had pretty much all she needed; a stream filled with fish, a soft, grassy spot to sleep.

Hama spread out the blanket she received from Yuki, and walked over to the stream. She waved her arms, and lifted up a large blob of water. She did various tricks that she had not done for a while; water whip, waves, and anything else she could think of.

The sun was beginning to go down, and Hama was feeling hungry. She saw a lone fish swimming upstream, and with one little clasp of her hands, enclosed it in a bubble of water. She found a sharp stick, and speared it, watching as it breathed its last breath. She set it down on a rock and started a fire. After she finished cooking it, she happily ate.

"I hope you like this, kid," she muttered softly, rubbing her stomach. She laid herself down on the blanket, and let out a content sigh. It had been so long since she felt this good. She closed her eyes, and held her hand to her abdomen. She felt the tiny heartbeat vibrate through her, and she could not help but smile.

She heard the water from the stream running somewhere past her head, and she lifted up her arm, bringing a strand of water above her head. She let swirl around above her, using it to soothe her. As she did this, she remembered a lullaby her father used to sing to her.

"Gentle pool

The waves go by

Gently sigh.."

Hama struggled to remember the rest, but could not. Instead she just hummed the melody, as she carefully tossed the strand of water back in to the stream. The heartbeat of the tiny life inside her was enough of a lullaby.

* * *

Daw, fluff. There will be more action soon, I promise. 


	7. The Birth

**I am so tired right now, but I've worked through worse. So enjoy the next chapter.**

* * *

Six months had passed since Hama broke out of her prison, and she enjoyed everyday. Her water bending had become even stronger than it was years ago. But she still had to be careful when she water bended since she was still in the Fire Nation. She did have some close calls when soldiers made their monthly inspections. Luckily for her, her skin was not as dark as normal Water Tribe members, so she did not stick out as much.

Her stomach was now unbelievably swollen, so much that she could not even see her feet anymore. And it did not do so much for her bending either. But it was keeping her in shape.

Hama regularly visited Yuki for checkups, much to Yuki's joy. Hama suspected that Yuki did not get a lot of visitors, possibly because people trusted modern medicine more than traditional. But waddling back and forth between her camp site and Yuki's clinic was proving too much for her, so Hama decided, based on Yuki's insistence, that she would stay with her.

"I'm not that bad a roommate," Yuki winked when Hama hesitantly accepted the offer.

"It's not that.. It's--" Hama did not want to say 'because you're a Fire Nationer.'

"I can understand why a Water Tribe member might feel uncomfortable in the Fire Nation," Yuki said casually as she set up Hama's room.

Hama gaped at her. "What do you mean?"

Yuki cast a sidelong glance at her, smiling. "Please. I knew you were from the Water Tribe the moment I met you. Your complexion is a little lighter, but otherwise you're obviously from there. Which one are you from?"

Hama bit her lip. "Southern."

"Never been there. I've been to the Northern one once," Yuki noticed Hama's worried look. "Don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone."

Yuki's face grew serious for a moment.

"I heard that they wiped out all of the Water benders there, is that why you left?" Yuki threw up her hands, "I'm just asking; if you don't want to tell me, I'll understand."

"Leaving wasn't exactly my choice.." Hama said softly.

Realization flashed across Yuki's face. "You mean you're a..?"

Hama nodded. "Yes. I was in prison for a few years, but I escaped." After she said these words, she felt very stupid for saying them in the first place. She looked at Yuki, a nervous look on her face.

Yuki furrowed her eyebrows, and looked away. "I guess everyone has their secrets." She looked back at her, smiling reassuringly. "I'm not a snitch."

Hama believed her.

The next week was uneventful. Hama tried to help Yuki out as much as she could, but every time she attempted to do any work, Yuki would come and shoo her away.

"It's best for you and the baby to rest! And eat!" Yuki then proceeded to shove a tray of food into Hama's hands, and push her out of the room.

Hama went outside, and enjoyed the sunset. The baby twisted inside her as she ate. She chuckled softly.

"Restless little thing, aren't ya?" She rubbed her stomach, trying to soothe the baby. She watched as the sun sunk down behind the mountains, until it disappeared completely, leaving only a yellowish-orange hue. Her attention now was turned towards the rising moon; it was full.

The higher it went, the more restless the baby seemed to become. Then it became pain. Hama stood up, gripping her stomach, the pain was becoming more intense. Just as she was turning to go back inside, a gush of water trickled between her legs. The pain in her mid-section caused her legs to give out.

"Yuki!" She forced out, "I need help!"

Yuki poked her head out, and when she saw Hama practically doubled over in pain, she quickly ran outside, and tried to pull her up. It took a few tries for Yuki to hold the pregnant woman up steadily. Then she led Hama inside, and took her to one of the birthing rooms. Hama carefully climbed into the bed, and sighed as some of the pain subsided.

"Are you ok? Do you need anything?" Yuki asked, trying to stay calm.

Hama shook her head. "I'm fine.."

"Ok, let me check how much you're dilated." Yuki bent down and felt between Hama's legs. "Wow.. 5 centimeters already. You're halfway there, so this shouldn't be too long."

Hama gripped the mattress as a contraction hit her. She remembered the breathing exercises Yuki taught her, and tried them out. They helped a little, but not as much as she wanted them to.

Hama's labor progressed even more in the next hour. And she even figured out something she could do to ease her pain; she using blood bending on herself, soothing herself by using wavelike motions on the fluids in her body. But even that after awhile began to lose its effect.

Yuki came back in, and checked her again. She looked up at Hama, a big grin on her face. "I think you're ready."

Hama sat up, and bared down when Yuki told her to. She was clenching her teeth so hard, she was afraid they were going to fall out. The pain was blinding, and she felt a powerful urge to pass out, but she shook it off. She heard Yuki say something about a head?

"What?" She asked stupidly.

"I said, I can see the head. You're almost there!"

'She said that ten minutes ago,' Hama thought angrily.

Finally, after one powerful push, the baby came out. It cried the moment it was born. And boy, did it cry.

"It's a girl!" Yuki called to the exhausted Hama. Yuki took out a knife, and cleanly cut the umbilical cord.

Hama breathed a sigh of happiness as she fell back in the bed. Yuki went to the other side of the room and cleaned the infant up, then wrapped her up in a blanket. She went back to Hama and placed the newborn on her chest. Hama marveled at her baby. She looked like a classic Water Tribe baby; the brown skin, soft brown hair. She couldn't tell what color eyes she had since they were closed, and were also most likely the newborn dark blue color.

She stroked the baby's cheek, and stared transfixed on the tiny person.

"Do you have any names picked out?" Yuki asked softly.

Hama gasped; she didn't. She stared at the baby for a moment, and then looked out the window. The moon could not be seen at that moment, so Hama guessed that it was around midnight. She remembered a name she had heard once she liked.

"I think I'll name her, Pamuya," she whispered the name into the baby's ear, who just let out a soft moan as she fell back asleep. Hama did not think that was such a bad idea as the stress of the delivery was beginning to wear on her. She wrapped an arm around Pamuya, and closed her eyes.

"Sleep well," Yuki said as she left the room.

Hama fell asleep, into a very deep sleep, right away. Something woke her up, not the baby, but Yuki. Her face looked panicked.

"Hama, you have to hide!" She said quickly. Hama blinked at her, her mind still sleepy. "Come on!"

Yuki forced Hama onto her weak legs, and made her go into a cupboard. Without any explanation, she ran out of sight.

"Can I help you, sir?" Yuki's muffled voice asked.

"Yes you can, we have reason to believe that you are from the Earth Kingdom. Illegally." An unrecognizable voice replied. Hama mentally gasped, she was from the Earth Kingdom, which explained why she was so accepting of where Hama was from. "And that you are also performing strange, medicinal rituals."

"They are not rituals! I use herbs to treat people, rather than this fancy technology," Yuki snapped at him.

Hama could feel Pamuya wriggle around in her arms, then she stopped for a moment, and then began moving again. Hama felt a warm, wet, stickiness on her arm. She grimaced as she realized it was meconium, something Yuki had explained to her as the baby's first bowel movement, but she dared not move.

"I can't leave here!" She heard Yuki shout.

"I don't really think you're in a position to bargain with me," the man's voice oozed with malice.

"I don't care what you do to me!"

"Oh, that's good, because I was worried that you would," the man said sarcastically.

Hama struggled to hear what was going on, and without warning, Pamuya began crying. Hama tensed as she tried to calm the baby down. But her cries just grew louder.

"Shit.." She muttered. The footsteps of heavy boots came towards the cupboard.

"Oh, what do we have in here?" The man said, more to the closet than Yuki. He threw the doors open, and Hama stared into the eyes of a Fire Nation soldier. She tried to scoot back, but the cupboard was not very large, so she did not go very far. He reached in and pulled Hama out by the scruff of her shirt. She held onto Pamuya as tightly as she could as she was pulled into a standing position.

Yuki came running at the soldier, and put all of the force of her body into one tackle. It did not do much, it just made the soldier angrier. He let go of Hama, and unsheathed a knife. Yuki was still pressing up against him, and what happened next stuck in Hama's mind for the rest of her life.

He pushed Yuki away at arm's length, brought back the knifed hand back, and forced it into Yuki's chest. She gasped as it pierced her, and collapsed onto the floor. The soldier smirked, and then spit on her.

Hama was frozen where she stood, her mouth gaping. She let out a shuddering breath as she looked up at the soldier. She took a few steps back, her guard up.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything to you. As far as I know, you haven't done anything," the soldier turned his back on her, and without another word, left the clinic.

Hama sunk down next to Yuki's body, and completely broke down as she laid herself next to her. Pamuya did not make a sound as her mother cried mournfully.

* * *

**This was an interesting chapter to write; mostly because of the sudden jump in tone.**

**Update on Becky, (our pregnant youth pastor) she was in the hospital a few days ago because of a kidney infection, but she's ok now, she just needs some bed rest. She left me a message a few days ago, saying she was in the hospital, and naturally I got really nervous. Luckily I found out that she, and baby Sammy, are ok. So, _ja_. Just to let you guys know, in case you care. :)**


	8. Moving On

**Woot. Chapter eight.**

* * *

Hama held Pamuya against her chest as her sobs became quieter. She sniffed and made a movement to stand up when she saw Yuki twitch. Hama gasped.

"Yuki!" Hama moved closer to Yuki. "Do.. Do you want me to take that knife out..?" Her voice cracked as she said this.

Yuki shook her head slowly. "No.. There's no reason to."

Tears began streaming down Hama's face again. Yuki turned her head to Hama and smiled. With great difficulty, she pushed herself up, and came in front of Hama's face. Placing her hand on the back of Hama's neck, she leaned in and kissed Hama on the cheek. Then she whispered into her ear.

"Promise me something.. Promise me that you'll never let the Fire Nation take away your heritage. Or Pamuya's," Yuki smiled again. She suddenly went limp, and fell against Hama. Hama bit her lip, and laid her on the floor.

She stood up, pushed Pamuya onto her shoulder, and picked up Yuki. Carefully, she took her outside, and placed her on the ground. She checked for any sign of life. There was none.

She spent the next few hours digging a grave for Yuki. By the time she was done, her was so physically exhausted she could barely move. She remembered it was not long since she had given birth. As carefully as she could, she laid Yuki into the hole. She stared at the face of the only woman to show her such compassion in years. She immediately thought of Kanna, and wondered how she was. Hama closed her eyes tightly as she tossed soil on top of the young woman. When she was finished, she picked up Pamuya and went inside. She didn't go to her room, instead she headed for Yuki's bedroom, and wrapped herself in her blankets; they smelled like Yuki.

Pamuya whined hungrily, making grabbing motions at Hama's breasts. Hama complied, opening up her shirt. The small infant suckled happily, and quickly, becoming full almost right away. Satiated, she fell asleep. Hama tucked her under her arm as she lied down on the bed. She closed her eyes, but did not sleep. She could still hear Yuki's voice. She could still hear the last thing she said, and Hama remembered that she made a similar promise to Chief Soan the last time she was in the Water Tribe.

Hama was woken up by Pamuya crying. She got up and checked to see what food they had; not much was left. She made a carrier for Pamuya, placed it on her front, and put the baby in it. She found a large cloak and threw it over herself, concealing Pamuya. She decided that she did not want people to know that she had her baby yet.

Hama could already tell that it was going to be a sunny day, but she was not feeling happy. She headed to the market, subconsciously hiding her face. Most of the merchant did not even seem to recognize her. As she was leaving, she hear something that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

"Did you hear about that medicine woman? She was killed!" One man whispered to another.

"Really? Good riddants! She was from the Earth Kingdom, ya know? Who killed her?"

"That Fire Navy soldier who's been wandering around."

"More proof of what an amazing job they're doing."

The two men left, laughing. Hama could feel her skin bristle with hate, but she gently touched Pamuya, and pulled the hood farther over the head. She quickly snuck back to Yuki's house, and got some things together.

"How about a little trip, Muya?" Hama said to the infant. Pamuya gurgled happily.

Hama left the house, not sure if she would ever come back, and gave it one last, sorrowful look. She headed south, doubtful of where she would end up. By late afternoon, a somewhat familiar smell hit her. She smelled the sea. Her pace quickened, making her way through a small forest. She came through a patch of bushes, and found herself at a harbor.

It was very busy, and filled with people. She tried her best to blend into the crowd as she looked for a place to rest. As rush hour came, more people filled the town, pushing Hama as she tried to slip through. Pamuya was beginning to become upset, and Hama was feeling tired. She saw a sign for an inn and made her way in. It wasn't too crowded, luckily. Hama went to the front desk, giving the clerk the nicest smile she could.

"Rooms are 20 gold pieces," the clerk told her boredly.

The smile dropped off Hama's face. "I only have 50 copper pieces."

"Then no room."

Hama opened her mouth to say something, but Pamuya was getting fussy, so she decided against it and left.

She sat on a crate outside, gently patting Pamuya on the back and bouncing her. Hama yawned and sighed.

"Maybe this was a bad idea, Muya.." Hama muttered. Pamuya sighed contently, and buried her face into Hama's chest. Hama continued rubbing the infants back as she closed her eyes. She enjoyed the smell of salty sea air, and she tried to block out the sound of the people. Time passed, and the people eventually dispersed. It was getting dark, and Hama did not know where she would stay. She hung her head.

"Hama?" A voice, somewhat familiar, said.

Hama looked up and saw two people, a man and woman, staring at her. She squinted as she tried to recall who they were; they were wearing Southern Water Tribe clothing.

"Tuwawi?" Hama stared at the man, and then at the woman, "Nukka?"

"Hama! It is you!" Nukka flung herself at Hama, hugging her tightly. "I thought you were.."

She pulled away, her eyes filled with tears, and her lip was quivering.

"Hama, what happened to you?" Tuwawi asked, holding onto Nukka, "You were taken away with the Fire Navy.."

"I didn't realize.." Hama said bitterly, but then she looked up. "I'm sorry.. It's been a rough couple of years. I escaped 6 or 7 months ago."

Tuwawi and Nukka both gasped. "That's amazing!" Tuwawi exclaimed.

Hama shrugged. Pamuya whined, and clutched Hama's shirt. Tuwawi and Nukka looked at the baby, and again, gasped.

"Is that a..?" Nukka asked pointing.

"Boy, you two really are on the ball today," Hama rolled her eyes, then bit her lip. "Yes, this is Pamuya."

"When did you..?" Nukka asked sheepishly.

"About 8 months ago," Hama said quietly.

Nukka was silent for a moment as she did the math, then she gasped. "Oh my.."

There was an awkward silence for a moment. Finally, Tuwawi cleared his throat.

"It's getting a little chilly out.. Hama, do you have anywhere to stay?" Hama shook her head. "Then, why don't you stay with us? We're staying in the inn over there."

Hama could not argue with that. "I would love to, Tuwawi."

Tuwawi and Nukka smiled. "Well, good! We can catch you up on what's been going on at the Water Tribe."

"I would like that. I would really like that.." Hama smiled slightly. She let Pamuya rest on her shoulder as she followed Tuwawi and Nukka.

* * *

**End of eighth chapter, guyths. And of course congrats to Bryke and the crew for winning the KCAs!! Woot! I honestly did not think it would happen, and that ol' Spongey would get it. So, like many Avatards, I am very impatiently awaiting the rest of S3. Nick really seems to just want to be done with this show, even though it won the Kids Choice Awards! Nickelodeon logic, go figure. Seriously, Spongebob used to be good, but now they just reuse jokes, and plots. Let him die already! Jeez-a-lou! D:**

**Sorry.. I've been going to too many Avatar forums. And I apologize to any Spongebob fans. No intended offense.**


	9. Back to the South Pole

**It is a little difficult to write this without getting too specific, with the fear that something in the next few episodes might completely destroy my theory. But I don't want to have to wait for the next episodes seeing as how there is no clue as to when they'll air. But I heard that Bryke are going to be at NY Comic Con, so I'm going to try to go, and hopefully they might know the airdates. Either way, I'll see Bryke, which would be like a dream come true for me.**

* * *

They settled into the room that Tuwawi and Nukka were staying in. Hama cleaned and fed Pamuya, and quickly put the fussy baby to bed. Tuwawi was cooking dinner, as Nukka and Hama caught up.

"Tuwawi and I left the Southern Water Tribe not long after the attack. We went to learn what was going on, to see why the Fire Nation was attacking our tribe.."

"Did you find anything out?"

"No, sadly.." Tuwawi came in with a tray of food, serving Hama first. "We've been traveling for so long, and it partly seems like we haven't gotten anywhere. So we've decided to head back."

"Have you kept contact with the Water Tribe?" Hama asked, her mouth full.

"Actually yes, we have," Nukka answered, taking her share of the food. "They have a new chief, and.. Oh, remember Kanna?"

Hama choked on her food a little bit. "Yes?"

"Well, she got married, and she had a baby. A boy.. I believe his name's Hakoda," Tuwawi said.

"Wow, it's about time. She always talking about how she wanted to get married. Which is funny since she came to South Pole because she didn't want to get married," Hama chuckled. She glanced at the two. "What about you guys? Why are you traveling together?"

Tuwawi and Nukka glanced at each other. "We got married. About.. Two years ago?" Tuwawi said, looking at his wife.

Nukka nodded.

"What about kids? Do you plan on having any?" Hama asked. Tuwawi and Nukka exchanged uncomfortable glances. "Oh! I'm sorry.. Was that too personal..?"

"No, no.. It's not that. It's just that.." Nukka gave her husband a pained expression. "We are unable to have children.."

"Oh, I'm so sorry.." Hama gave Nukka a pat on the back.

"It's ok.. We've accepted it," Tuwawi said solemnly, "Almost.."

Nukka turned and smiled at Hama. "But it must be great having Pamuya! She's just the sweetest baby.."

"Thanks.. She doesn't look much like me though.." Hama smiled, but her mouth quickly dropped, "But luckily she doesn't look like her father, either."

"Was he Fire Nation?" Nukka asked in a hushed tone.

Hama nodded. "I don't want to talk about it though.. It may have been a horrible experience, but I learned a lot because of it, and I have a beautiful daughter.."

Nukka nodded, taking a sip of tea.

"I'm sure she'll like it very much in the Southern Water Tribe.."

Hama choked on the food she was eating. "Wait, what? I never said I was going back to the Southern Water Tribe."

Tuwawi and Nukka stared at her, wide-eyed. "What do you mean you're not going back?!" Tuwawi asked, Nukka's eyes growing even wider.

"It's been years since I've been back.. I feel like I let them down," Hama stared at her food.

"That's ridiculous, Hama! You were stolen away from your home! You were held captive for so many years! And you want to stay in the place of the people who did that to you?!" Nukka moved closer to Hama, her eyes filling with tears. "Do you realize that there are no other Waterbenders in the Southern Water Tribe?!"

"And what good would me being there do?! 'Hey, I'm the last Waterbender here, ok?'. That would just remind people of what happened," Hama stood up; Pamuya was crying in the other room.

Hama went into the room Pamuya was in and picked the crying infant up. Cooing softly to her daughter, Hama bounced her up and down.

"Shh, sh, it's ok Muya.." Hama held up Pamuya in the air and stared at the child. She really didn't look much like Hama; dark skin, little nose, and Hama was beginning to see that Pamuya had bright blue eyes. "Are you sure you're my daughter? At least I don't see any Fire Nation qualities in you.."

Pamuya squealed, trying to extend her feet at Hama's face.

"You little monkey.." Hama brought Pamuya to her chest, and sat down in a chair. She opened her shirt, and let Pamuya eat. Hama closed her eyes, and quickly fell asleep. It was light when she woke up, and Pamuya was fast asleep on her chest. She heard a tap on the door, and Nukka poked her head in.

"Um.. I have breakfast for you.." Nukka didn't look Hama in the eye as she set down the tray, and quickly left the room. Hama sighed and began nibbling at her breakfast. Pamuya woke up and left out a sleepy whine, making grabbing motions at Hama's hair. Hama looked down at her daughter, and stroked the mat of soft brown hair on her head. Pamuya looked up at her, her blue eyes wide.

Hama came into the main room, Pamuya in her arms. Tuwawi and Nukka looked up, their faces stoic, with a touch of acknowledgment.

"Nukka, Tuwawi.. I think, Pamuya would like it very much in the South Pole," Hama said in a quiet tone.

Nukka jumped up, her mouth opened happily. "Oh, Hama! You're coming back with us?"

Hama shook her head slowly. The corners of Nukka's mouth dropped suddenly. "No, I'm not.. But I've decided that I would like you two to take Pamuya with you. I would like guys to adopt her."

Nukka's eyes widened, and she turned to her husband. "But couldn't you just come with this?" Tuwawi asked.

Hama frowned. "I already told you; I can't go back, it would be too painful for me and the village. Besides, I don't want Pamuya to grow up here, or to know about her Fire Nation heritage.. I could never live with myself if something happened to her.."

Hama bit her lip to keep herself from crying. "Pamuya looks too Water Tribe, anyway, she'd be much happier there. You two would make great parents.."

Nukka walked towards Hama, and carefully took Pamuya, awkwardly looking at the infant. Pamuya, at first, seemed taken aback by being pulled away from her mother, but she quickly got over it and buried her face in Nukka's neck.

"See.. She likes you already," Hama said painfully.

Tuwawi stood up. "Hama, you can't give your only daughter away.."

"I can't let two of my best friends adopt her? A married couple adopt a baby? My goodness, how crazy!" Hama sighed, "I love Pamuya so much, which is why I have to do this.. She'd be much happier, and safer in the South Pole."

Nukka looked down at the baby, and Tuwawi stepped over to her, looking at Pamuya, too. He stroked her hair, and a smile spread across his face.

"Hama, if you're really serious about this.. We would be glad to adopt her," Tuwawi put his arm around Nukka, who smiled as well.

Hama nodded, her throat feeling tight.

Tuwawi and Nukka packed their things up, and along with Hama and Pamuya, they headed outside. While their luggage was being loaded into a boat, Hama explained to them what Pamuya liked and didn't like.

"Don't touch her nose, she hates that!" Hama told them finally. She took her daughter from Nukka for one last goodbye. "I probably won't get to see you grow up.. I'm sure you'll be the most beautiful woman in Southern Water Tribe.. Please marry a nice man, and have a lot of children."

She hugged the infant as tight as she could without hurting her. Pamuya squealed loudly, swinging her chubby arms around. Hama handed her back to Nukka, and wiped a stray tear away from her eye.

"Hama, do you realize how important this it to us?" Tuwawi said to her, "We'll love her so much.."

The ship's captain, an Earth Kingdom citizen in disguise, yelled at them to hurry up.

"We have to go now, Hama.. Please write to us," Nukka said as they got onto the ship.

"Nukka! Don't tell anyone she's my daughter.." Hama yelled to them, "Wait! Are you going to keep her name?!"

But the ship already left port, and Hama couldn't tell if they gave her an answer. She watched as the ship disappeared into the horizon, just as the sun was in the middle of the sky. She felt a terrible aching feeling in her chest, and as much as she tried to fight it, she burst into a sobbing fit.

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**Becky baby update (sort of): Becky has been on bedrest for probably about a month, and haven't seen her for a while. I know she's ok but, staying in bed is driving her crazy. So hopefully she won't have to be on bedrest until Sammy's born. I mean, three months on bedrest? That would drive me crazy too..**


	10. Return to the Village

**Sorry this took so long, I have a lot going on. Also sorry for the potential suckiness and shortness; I just wanted to upload something. D:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar, nor do I have any involvement in the show whatsoever (Though I would die happy if I did) Avatar is owned by Bryan K. (I'm not going to try to spell his name) Michael Dante DiMartino, Nickelodeon, and Viacom.**

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Hama went back to the empty room they had been staying in, and gathered the little stuff she had. Even though she only had Pamuya for a few days, she felt like it had been forever. Her arm felt strangely empty without the tiny baby in them. She flung her bag over the shoulder and left the inn, and soon the town. At first she had no idea where she was going to go, but her mind quickly decided to go back to the village where she had spent over a half a year in. The village where Yuki had lived.

When she first got there, no one seemed to recognize her, to her relief. But that was short-lived when Din, or Ding as he was sometimes called, saw her and ran over to her.

"Hama! What happened? Where were you?" He asked. He glanced at Hama's stomach. "Not to sound rude, but weren't you pregnant?"

Hama's tried to resist the urge to let her bitterness show. Instead, she bit her lip and let a few stray tears fall down her face. "It was a still-born.."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Ding told her sympathetically.

"It's been hard, but.. I don't think I would have been in a good financial situation to have a baby."

Ding nodded, and placed his hand on Hama's shoulder. Hama bristled at his touch. "Well, I'm very sorry.."

"Thank you for your concern," Hama hung her head.

Ding let go of her shoulder, and turned to leave, but stopped. "Oh! Now, I don't want to scare you, but you know that woman you were staying with? The medicine woman?"

Hama felt her skin go cold. "You mean Yuki?"

"Yea, yea.. She.. Um.. Was from the Earth Kingdom," Ding grimaced.

Hama tried to cover up her anger; her arms pulled tightly to her side, but she loosened them and put one of her hands to her mouth. "Oh, my! You mean I was living with an Earth Kingdomer?"

"Well, it's ok now. She was taken away by the Fire Army, so that problem's taken care of," Ding told her reassuringly.

Hama could feel her body shaking as she continued to restrain herself. What complete bison shit! Hama crossed her arms, trying to keep herself from water bending.

"Do you know for sure that she was taken away, Ding? Where did you hear that?"

"What do you mean? Are you suggesting that she was killed? No! Of course not! The Fire Army would never kill in cold blood," Ding's brow furrowed the more he spoke. "Though I did hear that she attacked an unarmed soldier, almost killed the poor guy. If you ask me, imprisonment was too lenient of a sentence. Maybe they should have killed her."

Hama almost felt like she couldn't talk, but she managed to force out a few shaky words. "What do you have against the Earth Kingdom?"

"I'd be fine with them if they weren't always trying to rebel against the Fire Nation. They can't seem to realize that we're not trying to ruin their kingdom, but help it."

Hama never has a stronger urge to punch someone in the face. "Is Yuki's building still available?"

Ding was surprised by this question, but he nodded. "Yeah, nobody has moved in at all."

"Good. Ok, thanks, bye!" Hama didn't know if she could have spent another minute with him, so she quickly walked away before he could say anymore.

She didn't look back as she made her way to Yuki's medical center. Once she got there, she stood outside for a moment, staring at the front. For some reason she expected it to be in disrepair, even though she had been gone for only a couple of days. When she stepped inside, the air smelled stale and musky. The rooms were dark, and had a cold, forlorn feeling.

Hama went upstairs to her room, and laid on the bed. Staring up at the ceiling, she remembered giving birth to Pamuya here not that long ago. She rubbed her stomach and realized it was still rather bloated from the pregnancy.

"I need to do some more Waterbending training," Hama said to herself.

Herself. That was all she had now. She could never return to the Southern Water Tribe. And she believed she would have equally ill feelings if she went to the Northern Water Tribe. The best thing right now would be to stay in this village, and uphold this building once belonging to Yuki. Maybe she could turn it into an inn. Yeah, an inn. People pass through this town all the time, and there was no doubt in her mind that she would make a decent amount of money.

"Maybe one day I'll return.." Hama said aloud softly. She closed her eyes tightly when she felt tears threatening to come out.

But how could she live in a village run by Fire Nation civilians. They may not be out fighting this pointless war, but they definitely support it. They are as close-minded as the people who run this nation. Sozin. His son Azulon, who would soon be Fire Lord. She knew that Azulon had an adolescent son, and was expecting another child soon, but she had no doubt in her mind that those children would turn out to be as ruthless as their descendants.

"Those heartless bastards!" Hama said aloud, pounding her fist into the bed.

Hama rolled over on her side, and opened her eyes. The sky was now completely dark and she could hear crickets chirping outside. She could hear a few people chattering outside. Even at their seemingly innocent words, Hama could feel her blood boiling each time she heard one of their voices.

The fact was, they were Fire Nation. Born into a country of war and propaganda, and raised to respect the very tyrants who started this slaughter. And for what? To expand their own country just for the sake of expanding it? Ridiculous! And the more people born into this country, the more close-minded fools to blindly follow their ruler.

Hama sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She could feel a familiar replenishing warmth fill her body. Lifting her head up, she saw that the moon was full. When she was pregnant the full moon didn't give the heightened power she had when was in prison. At least later in her pregnancy. But now. Now the full moon's glow seemed to circulate through her veins, through her muscles. Bloodbending. A concept she hadn't thought of in many months. Before there was no reason to use it, she had everything she needed; a home she could return to anytime she wanted, Yuki, food, and the prospect of a child to care for.

But now all of that was gone, in one short day. The home was all she had left. But she couldn't call it that anymore; it was a building. You need love, warmth, and familiarity for it to be a home.

And it was all gone because of the Fire Nation. They had taken so much away from her and they didn't even seem to care. No inkling of remorse. And just because of the slight differences between the Fire Nation and the rest of the nations. These _people_ aren't humans, they're monsters. And in the stories, there's always a way to bring down a monster.

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**You can probably tell that Hama is really starting to lose it in this chapter. If she hadn't already done so of course. I've realized that I love analyzing the mental capacities of certain characters. Case in point, Azula. Azula is by far my favorite character, and not just in Avatar, probably in any literary thing I've come across. I think her character is very interesting, and she's a lot deeper than she's shown to be.**

**Anywho, I found Ding's bluntness about Hama's former pregnancy to be pretty off-putting, and I wrote this! But I couldn't have come up with another way for him to point it out. That's his character, let's just say that. The next chapter will be better, I promise!**


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